The Temporal Altercation
by Darkest643
Summary: When Harry and his friends arrive at the Department of Mysteries, they take along with them three Time Turners. Chaos ensues, and the battle deep in the heart of the Ministry erupts.
1. The Temporal Altercation

**A/N: Welcome to a story that will drive you insane. Or maybe outsane. It's hard to tell. Anyway, this is a story I've been working on for about a month, and you'll see why after reading it, but here it is. Thanks to Lady Cougar-Trombone for some of her comments about this, it was very helpful. I'll let you get to reading this, then.**

* * *

**Harry**

* * *

I strolled into the bustling Ministry of Magic, locating the elevators and motioning for my friends to follow me. We had to dodge employees hurrying about and duck under the paper airplanes flittering above us. "Harry," asked Hermione as we entered the elevator, which was empty, "are you sure we're going the right way?"

"Positive," I replied. "I remember where my trial was held, and the Department of Mysteries is right next to there."

Hermione didn't say anything afterward, and the elevator continued down. Several employees entered the elevator on the fourth floor, but if they saw anything out of place, they didn't say anything. They got off on the second floor, and the elevator doors closed again.

"Is there anything you can remember that might help us get through the Department?"

I shook my head. "All I remember is me walking down this hallway, and the door opening at the end."

Hermione just humphed, and Luna peered up at the ceiling curiously. "Luna, what do you see?" I asked after a moment.

"There's a Gibbering Gumdriver's nest up there," said her dreamy voice. "No wonder the Ministry is so backwards. I shall have to tell father about this."

"Er, right," I said. I glanced around the elevator as it stopped on our floor. Neville's right hand was shaking a little, but when I put a hand on his shoulder, he looked up and smiled at me. We stepped out of the elevator, and I followed the way I remembered from my trial, leading the other five down the black corridor.

The Department of Mysteries wasn't just like my dream, however. In front of us was a large door with iron gates covering up the entrance. "Well," I said, "this might be a problem."

Hermione brushed past me, and pulled out her wand. "Incendio!" Flames burst forth from the end of her wand, and they conglomerated around the bars, heating them up until they started to melt. "Bloody hell!" exclaimed Ron. "How'd you do that?"

"Well," replied Hermione, "any metal will melt is it is heated up to a high enough temperature." Hermione tried to push open the door, but she was thrown back into Neville, and they collapsed on the floor. "Hermione!" cried Ron. Hermione and Neville both stood up, Neville brushing the dust off his robes, and Hermione swaying a little from the impact.

"What happened?" asked Hermione.

"You didn't have the password," said Luna. She walked straight up to the door and said in a loud clear voice, "Sunny side-up!"

The door opened inward, and Luna gestured for us to follow her. "Blimey, Luna, how'd you know that?" asked Ron.

"The password to the DoM is always egg related," replied Luna. "It was just a lucky guess after that. Last week the password was 'Deviled'."

The hallway after that was similarly black, and the six of us headed down the corridor nervously. "Harry," whispered Hermione, "do you recognize the hallway yet?"

"No," I whispered back. "Why are we whispering?"

"Because shouting would draw too much attention," responded Hermione quietly.

Just then, a side door opened, and a man dressed completely in white stepped out into the corridor. We froze, and when the man saw us, he sighed and called back into the room, "Larry, I told you, it's just Jerry. You know how he likes to dress up as Harry Potter."

Larry shouted back, "That's because his name rhymes with our naming scheme, Merry. Otherwise he wouldn't bother."

"You're right," hollered back Merry, walking back into the door he had come from earlier. I unfroze, and motioned for my friends to continue down the corridor. We crept past the door quietly, hoping that Merry didn't come out again.

Eventually we reached another door, and I pushed it open uncertainly. Inside was a series of doors in a circular room. Neville, the last one through, was about to close the door, but Hermione stopped him. "Flagrate!"

Blue flames formed an X on the door, and it was lucky she did, because when the door shut, the room began to spin, leaving the X-ed out door standing out like and flaming blue X should. "Good idea, Hermione," complimented Ron. She beamed at him, and the doors stopped spinning.

"Which one should we pick?" asked Ginny.

"How about we each choose one?" I suggested. "That way, it'll take two tries to get the right one." They all nodded and each opened a door. I went around to each one, and looked inside. I went into the room that Hermione had opened, and looked around. Planetary bodies hung all around the ceiling, but I didn't recognize anything from my dreams, so I exited the room and Hermione used Flagrate on the door. Ginny's room was mostly open space, but a set of stairs stood an archway with a silvery veil hanging across the arch. I turned around to leave, when I thought I heard a whisper coming from the arch. I turned back to get a better look at the veil. The silvery veil was drifting around slightly, as if a light breeze was blowing, but I felt none. For a second, I was tempted to go through the veil, but then I remembered why I was here. I needed to find room Luna had opened had a large hourglass sitting in the middle of the room, and various clocks adorned the walls. It was then that I noticed the collection of Time Turners hanging below the hourglass.

"Should I?" I asked, uncertain, reaching out and fingering one.

"Harry, that would be stealing!" exclaimed Hermione. "I can't believe you're considering this!"

"I think you should nab one," said Ron. "What are they, anyway?"

"They're Time Turners," I explained. "They allow you to go back in time." Ron's eyes widened, and so did Neville and Ginny's.

"There shouldn't have to be any decision about this," said Ginny, who cast Flagrate on her door and let it shut. She stepped into Luna's room and grabbed three Time Turners from the wall. Hermione cried out indignantly, but Ginny put one on, put one around Hermione's neck, and gave the last to me.

"We shouldn't be doing this," said Hermione.

"Hermione," said Ginny, "we'll put them back after we're done with them. Promise."

Hermione still looked uncertain as Ginny smiled, closing the door.

"How do they even work, anyway?" Ginny asked.

"You spin the dial once for every hour you want to go back," explained Hermione. "But, don't go back more than five hours. Professor McGonagall told me that dangerous things could happen if you went back more than five hours."

"How'd you know that?" asked Ron.

"Because I used one throughout all of third year," said Hermione, blushing a little.

"And you didn't tell us?" asked Ron, hurt.

"I told Harry," said Hermione in a small voice.

"And you didn't tell me?" shouted Ron. "Why not?"

"Because Hermione was told to tell no one that she even had one, and she only told me because Dumbledore told her to go back in time and save Buckbeak and Sirius. We didn't tell you because the less people who knew about the Time Turner, the better," I explained. "Sorry about that."

"That's okay, mate," said Ron. "Now, where were we?"

Neville motioned to his door, and I peeked through. "This is it!" I exclaimed. The others lined up behind me as I went through the door, and I walked forward carefully, until we reached the end of the corridor. The door was closed, just like in my dream, and I pushed it open gently.

Inside stood row after row of tall shelves, each containing white crystal balls, each with a swirling mist roiling about inside. "We need to get to row 97," I told my friends. "That's where Sirius is."

Row after row went by, until we finally reached row 97. However, when we got there, Sirius was nowhere to be found. "Sirius!" I called. I didn't get an answer. I tried again, louder. "Sirius!"

"He's not answering," I said, dumbstruck. Hermione bit her bottom lip worriedly.

"Harry," she said, "I don't like this."

Then Ginny called me over. "Hey, Harry, take a look at this." I looked to where she was pointing. "It has your name on it."

I read the inscription below the orb. S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D. Dark Lord and ?(Harry Potter?). "What is it, Harry?" Ginny asked curiously.

"I don't know," I replied, picking it up off the shelf. I examined the orb carefully, turning it over in my hands. There was nothing especially interesting about this particular crystal ball, and the only reason it had caught Ginny's attention was because it had my name on it. I was about to put it back on the shelf when a loud crack split the air, startling me so that I nearly dropped the orb. Twelve Death Eaters in full regalia stood, wands at the ready, pointing them at me.

The Death Eater in the front removed his mask, revealing the face of Lucius Malfoy. Casually tossing his mask to the ground, he sneered at me. "Give me the Prophecy, Potter," he spat.

"Prophecy?" I asked.

"What you're holding, obviously," drawled Malfoy. "Give it here."

"No," I refused.

"It's not up for discussion," said Malfoy.

"No, it isn't," I replied, holding the orb closer to my chest. "I'm keeping the Prophecy, and you'll be leaving."

"Very funny, Potter," said Malfoy. "But the Dark Lord won't stand for it. Hand it over."

At this point, Ginny pulled out her wand and blasted the supports to the shelf behind Malfoy. The shelf wobbled dangerously, before tipping over onto the surprised Death Eaters. "RUN!" I shouted. Hermione, Luna, and I ran one way while Ron, Ginny, and Neville went another. Behind us, something strange was going on, but I was too distracted by the two Death Eaters chasing us to focus on it too much, but I heard the sounds of fighting going on. A door was up ahead, and I threw it open, Hermione running through and Luna closing it behind her.

"Colloportus," muttered Hermione, waving her wand at the doorknob. I glanced around the room they were in, noticing that we were in the planetary room Hermione had opened. Now that I had a closer look, I saw that the planets orbited a miniature sun, centered in the middle of the room. Desks surrounded the model solar system, which is what it was, and stars faintly twinkled on the walls and ceiling. The spot near where Hermione was standing on the floor had blood all over it, which was odd, but I dismissed it.

Luna broke me out of my thoughts. "It was a trap." Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but blushed, and closed her mouth.

"So Sirius isn't here, then," I said. "Then we came all this way for nothing."

"Don't think about that, Harry," reprimanded Luna. "All we need to do is get out of here."

The door was blasted off its hinges, and two Death Eaters ran into the room. One cast a spell at Hermione, which she shielded, and the other started shouting, "THEY'RE HE-" But he was interrupted by Luna casting a silencing charm on him. The Death Eater snarled in fury and cast a spell at Hermione, and Hermione fell over backwards, blood spurting from her chest.

"HERMIONE!" My stunning spell caught the other Death Eater in the chest, and he went down, unconscious. I was about to cast another spell at the first Death Eater, when he fell over frontwards, revealing me, standing behind him. Luna looked between him and the other Harry confused.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Harry, three turns, and take Hermione with you. You need to check on her, now!" shouted Harry, and he ran out of the room. Luna was about to chase after him, but I grabbed her by the arm. "You heard what he said. We need to check on Hermione."

The two knelt beside Hermione, and I paled at the amount of blood that was covering Hermione's chest. I cast the first spell he could think of that might help. "Impedimenta!"

"What did you do that for?" asked Luna.

"Well, Impedimenta slows things down, right? So we should have a little more time," I reasoned.

"Ok," said Luna. "Do you know any healing spells?"

"No, I don't," I said, "you?"

Luna shook her head, and Hermione coughed a little, and blood dribbled from her mouth. "Hermione, are you ok?" I asked. Hermione shook her head, and weakly tried to sit up. "Stay down," I ordered her. Hermione complied, coughing up more blood.

"Harry," asked Luna, "how were you here and there, just now?"

"I think I might have used the Time Turner," I said. As soon as I said that, I perked up. I looked over Hermione's chest, and found the Time Turner she was wearing around her neck. Fortunately, the Death Eater's spell had missed the Time Turner, though some of Hermione's blood had splattered onto it. I gave it to Luna. "Here. Remember, no more than five turns, and you can't let yourself be seen, unless you can remember it. One turn is one hour. Go see what happened to the others."

Luna took the Time Turner and put it around her neck. She stood up and walked to the door, looking back once. She smiled at me, and was gone. I turned my attention back to Hermione. "Harry," she whispered, "this isn't your fault."

I nodded blankly. "Hermione, I-"

She shook her head. "Harry, we need to go back."

I bit my lip. "Right." I took the Time Turner out from under my robes and looped the chain around Hermione's neck. I carefully turned the Time Turner three times. In a flash of light, we disappeared.

* * *

**Hermione**

* * *

I closed my eyes as the familiar magic of the Time Turner looped the fabric of the universe back on itself, and felt herself land on the floor. "Where are we?" I asked softly.

"We're still in the Department of Mysteries," said Harry.

"That's not right," I said, ignoring the slight dizziness in my head. "Time Turners are supposed to take you somewhere near where you were earlier."

"Maybe yours was like that, but this one could be different," said Harry.

"Maybe," I said. "Harry, why does my chest feel odd? I just noticed it."

"Well, you got hit with a curse there," began Harry. He paused. "Go on," I said.

"And you started bleeding a lot, so I used the Impediment Jinx to slow down the bleeding."

"Harry," I shouted, "that's brilliant!" I immediately regretted shouting, because it made my throat contract, and I coughed up some blood.

"Hermione!" Harry cried.

"I'm okay," I whispered, not straining my voice.

"I don't know any healing spells, so it won't help," lamented Harry.

"Try Episkey," I suggested, remembering the spell from one of the many books I had read. Strange, I couldn't recall which one it was. Usually, the name of the book just popped up into my head.

"Ok, I'll try." Harry pulled out his wand again, and said in a clear voice, "Episkey!"

I felt my chest suddenly grow hot, then immediately grow cold, before returning to normal. "Did it work?"

"A little," said Harry. "The bleeding has slowed."

I didn't say anything, and for a while, I just lay there next to Harry, whose glasses were slightly askew, a splatter of blood dripping slowly down his cheek. Eventually, though, I began to feel light headed.

"Harry," I started, but I cut myself off. My voice was too shaky. I tried again. "Harry-"

"What is it, Hermione?" asked Harry.

"I...I don't…" I couldn't say it. "Could you tell me a story?"

Harry sat back, and thought for a moment. "What kind of story?"

"Any kind. Preferably a happy one." Harry thought for a moment more, then he began.

"Once there was a girl, who lived with her parents in a house in the English countryside. She was mostly normal, but occasionally, something would happen that she couldn't quite explain. On her eleventh birthday, she received a letter, written in emerald green ink, telling her that she could do magic!

"She was most definitely surprised, but she read the letter to her parents, telling about a school in Scotland, just for learning magic. She was accepted, and about a year later, she boarded a bright red train in London, going off to learn magic." Harry smiled at Hermione, and she smiled back.

"What happened next?" I asked.

"Well," said Harry, "the girl arrived at the school, a castle, with a big black lake, and many towers, suits of armor, a library bigger than she had ever encountered, and most of all, two friends.

"Throughout the next five years, she learned about magic, and made a few more friends, even helping to solve a riddle that saved the school. But then, at the end of her fourth year learning magic, a dark wizard came back to life, and started terrorizing the land. The girl stood with her five friends, and defeated the dark wizard, sending him back to the realm of the dead forever. Then she lived happily ever after, having three children, and teaching magic at the school. The End."

I had tears in my eyes, seeing the parallels between myself and the girl, but also because the happy ending would never come. "Thank you, Harry."

A flash of light filled the room, and I shielded my eyes from the bright light. Ron and Luna appeared, wearing the second Time Turner around their necks. "Hermione!" exclaimed Ron. He knelt beside me, taking my hand in his. My heart fluttered.

"Ron," she whispered. I smiled up at him sadly. Ron looked into my eyes. "No!" he shouted. "No, you not dying."

"It's too late," I said.

"No," said Ron and Harry together. Another flash of light, and Ginny and Neville appeared. The two rushed over. Ron was crying, and Luna's eyes were filled with tears. I looked at each of my friends in the eye, and Ginny burst into tears.

"Hermione," said Neville, "thank you."

"For what?" I asked weakly.

"For everything you did for me. Helping me out in potions class, or looking over my homework, and inviting me to the DA."

"You're welcome." I could hardly get the words out, my throat was so choked up.

"Hermione." Harry couldn't look at me anymore, and turned away. "You don't deserve this."

"I don't deserve you," I replied.

Harry started sobbing, leaning into Ginny. "R-Ron," I began.

"What is it?"

"C-Could y-you k-kiss me?" My eyes met his, and for a moment, we just looked at each other, until he bent down and kissed me on the lips once. My heart soared for a second, but then my head, which had been light-headed for a while, began to ache. Slowly, my vision faded, my friends filling my sight, until I knew no more.

* * *

**Harry**

* * *

"Hermione," said Ron, trying to shake her awake. "Hermione!"

She didn't respond. Ron broke down in tears, and cried into Hermione's body. I stood up. "They will pay. We'll ambush them. Just after the shelves come down, and they split up, attack them."

They all nodded. I gently rubbed Ron's shoulders. "We need to move her."

Ron nodded, picking her up in his arms. "Where to?"

"We could put her under a prophecy shelf," suggested Luna. She had wiped away her tears.

"Speaking of, did anyone grab the prophecy?" I asked. They all shook their heads.

"Ok, then-" I was interrupted by the sound of the orb rolling on the ground. I looked at where it had come from, but I didn't see anything. "Thank you Harry," I said. "Do you know how to work it?"

"I just smashed it. You'll only be able to hear it once," replied the invisible Harry.

"Wait," said Ron, "are there two Harrys?"

"Yes," said Ginny. "Neville and I missed Hermione dea—the first time, so we came back with Harry, under his invisibility cloak."

"Ok," I said. "let's hear the Prophecy." I smashed the prophecy orb on the ground, and an image of Professor Trelawney appeared.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches, born to those thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies. The Dark Lord shall mark him as his equal, and he shall have the power the Dark Lord knows not. Neither can live while the other survives. The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches, born as the seventh month dies…"

"So that's the Prophecy…" said Neville.

"Yeah," said Ginny. "What was that part about not living while the other survived?"

"I don't know," said Ron. "Why don't you ask Dumbledore later?"

"I can do that later. Now we wait," I said. "Harry, who should we go after?"

"Well," came the invisible voice, "Ron was fighting Malfoy, and Luna was taking on someone else. Ginny and Neville took down Mulciber, I think it was. Harry, could you give Ginny and Neville your invisibility cloak?"

I pulled out his invisibility cloak and handed it to Ginny. "Make sure what you remember happening happens." Ginny nodded and slipped under the cloak, Neville disappearing under there moments later.

"You can hide out in row 101," said Harry. "I'm going to row 104."

Everyone headed out back into the prophecy room, and I sat down against the shelf. "I think we should rest now," I suggested. "It'll be another two hours before we get here, so we have some down time, and from what it sounds like, it'll be a long night."

Slowly the two hours ticked by, and I watched as Ron, Ginny, and Neville slept fitfully. Then I heard myself call out, "Sirius!" A pause. "Sirius!"

The confrontation happened just as I remembered it, and I watched as Ginny cast the spell that toppled the shelves. I followed the two Death Eaters that went after Hermione, Luna, and myself. They didn't look behind them at all, and I waited around the corner until I heard myself shout, "HERMIONE!"

I turned the corner, using a cutting curse, slicing open the back of the Death Eater's neck. I waited as the Death Eater fell, seeing his astonished face. "Harry, three turns, and take Hermione with you. You need to check on her, now!" I shouted. I looked Harry in the eye, and ran off. I needed to find Ginny and Neville.

* * *

**Ron**

* * *

I was angry. More so than I had ever been in my life before. I would take down Malfoy. That's what I needed to do. "Reducto!"

The spell flew by Malfoy's head, and Malfoy turned around, only for me to cast another "Reducto!", which caught him straight in the wand arm. Snarling in pain, Malfoy drew his wand in his other hand, and fired a spell at me, but I just dodged out of the way.

"You can't beat me," I taunted.

"As if," sneer Malfoy back. "Like a blood-traitor like you could defeat me!"

"It was preordained," I said, pulling out my Time Turner and showing it to Malfoy. Malfoy's eyes widened, and I took his shot. My next "Reducto!" landed straight between Malfoy's eyes. His head exploded into skull splinters and brain matter.

I looked around, and I started when I saw Luna facing off with another Death Eater. What was surprising was that there were two Lunas. Shots were flying between the Death Eater and the Lunas, until eventually one spell got through the Death Eater's shield, and he fell, dead, to the floor.

I ducked as a spell whizzed by him. He couldn't see who cast it, and decided he didn't care. Right now he was rather confused.

"What do I do next?" asked one Luna.

"Hide with Ron in row 69, and wait until Neville gives you the all clear." Then the other Luna walked away, and the first Luna came over to me, and pulled me along.

* * *

**Ginny**

* * *

"Reducto!" I shouted. The Death Eater Neville and I were facing was crumbling slowly under our combined assault. "Reducto!"

Finally, the Death Eater slipped up in his defense, and my next shot made it through, striking him in the chest. Just like the other me had told me, we had beaten the Death Eater. I thought back on what had happened earlier.

Luna had come running up after we had holed themselves up in a room that had lots of brains sitting in tanks. Neville had warned Ron not to touch them, because he seemed somewhat interested in them. Luna told us about the second Harry, and guessed that he had used his Time Turner. Throwing the chain of her Time Turner around Ron's neck, she turned the device three times.

Since Luna had taken Ron with her, I threw the chain of the Time Turner around Neville's neck. I carefully spun the Time Turner once...twice...But then I dropped it! A bright light flashed, and we found ourselves in the same room. I nearly cursed. I had messed up using the Time Turner. So Neville and I waited in the brain room, unsure of what to do. Then the door had opened, revealing a second me.

She had told us to wait out in there until we heard Harry call out Sirius's name, and then we were to track down the Death Eater with a dark blue wrist guard and kill him. I almost retorted angrily back at me when I heard that we was supposed to kill someone, but then she told me something that made my heart stop.

"Hermione is dead. One of the Death Eaters killed her. After you kill the Death Eater, Neville, you need to give a signal to Ron and Luna in row 69 after you get him. Wait for Harry to come to you. He'll put on his invisibility cloak, and you'll turn the Time Turner three times. Don't forget to tell me about this." Then Ginny was gone, and I waited with Neville in the brain room.

Then Neville asked me who Sirius was, and I told him everything I knew, which wasn't a lot, but Neville got the gist of what I was telling him. Then Harry called out, and together we slipped out of the brain room, avoiding the route we had taken when we were high-tailing away from the Death Eaters.

We had tracked down the Death Eater, and now he was dead. I pulled Neville toward one of the shelves. I saw Ron blasting away at another Death Eater, but decided not to intervene. But Neville was watching the fight a little, and he gasped. "What is it?" I asked.

"It's nothing," said Neville, but it was clear he was hiding something.

"You can tell me," I insisted.

"I don't think it's something you want to hear," evaded Neville.

I just gave him a look, and Neville relented. "Alright, I saw your beaten and bloody body lying on the ground!" Neville was shouting, and he noticed, lowering his voice. "You were dead."

I had gone white. "B-But I'm okay," I whispered to myself. Neville put a hand on my shoulder. "You are now," said Neville, "but what about after you go back in time again?"

I sagged to the floor. I looked up at Neville, and I saw tears in his eyes. "I don't want to lose another friend, Ginny. Be careful out there."

Ten more minutes went by, and then Harry's head popped out from under his invisibility cloak. "Let's go," was all he said. I flung the chain around both their necks, and carefully spun the Time Turner three times.

* * *

**Harry**

* * *

Hermione's death happened just as I remembered it; carefully reciting the lines I had said from my memory. After I finished telling them what to do, I headed over to row 104, where I waited until the shelves came down. Packing my invisibility cloak into his back pocket, I saw Neville fighting valiantly against Bellatrix Lestrange. I ran over to help, when suddenly, just as a curse was about to strike Neville, a second Neville jumped in front of the curse.

Neville paled as the other Neville fell, and thrust into Bellatrix's shield with spell after spell, until she finally dropped under the onslaught. Neville knelt down beside himself, and watched himself die. I stood by in horrible fascination as one Neville told the other that he had waited an hour just to see the expression on his face.

"Harry," said Neville, "I need your invisibility cloak."

I tossed it to him, and Neville threw the other invisibility cloak back. "Thanks," said Neville. "Your Time Turner?"

This time, I handed it to him carefully, trading it for the one the other Neville had. Neville nodded his head, and disappeared in a flash of light, leaving Neville's dead body behind. I gritted my teeth in frustration. Neville was the second friend to die for me today. "No more," I whispered to myself. "No more."

* * *

**Ron**

* * *

I sat in row 69 , waiting for Harry to come over. It seemed like a dream; Hermione was dead. Hermione, who had always helped me out, especially when I didn't understand something, or when I was having trouble with his homework—Hermione had always been there. Sure, there had been fights, but as far as I was concerned, that was now all in the past. And so was Hermione.

I held back a sob. While I might not have known earlier, I knew now—I had loved her. Hermione, whose smile had lit up my days, would smile no more. Books had been her comfort, but now all she had was the quiet embrace of death. "I need to stop thinking," I said quietly, "or I might turn all philosophical on you."

"It might be that the nargles aren't clouding your brain any longer," said Luna.

"Probably. How do you see nargles, anyway?" I asked.

"You look to the left of where they aren't, and to the right of where they are. Usually, they stay somewhere in between."

"I don't think that makes a lot of sense, but I'll try. Are there any nargles nearby?" Luna pointed to a spot on one of the shelves, and I looked to the left of where they weren't, and to the right of where they were. Then, it was if a light bulb that had never been turned on shone brighter than the sun, illuminating everything.

"I can see," I whispered in awe. The nargles were small indeterminate creatures, but they formed clumps and emitted a strange purplish light from their bodies. But what really struck me was the pattern they were forming. It was a simple image, but it was something that I would never forget.

It was Hermione's face, smiling back at him. "I am getting too bloody philosophical."

* * *

**Ginny**

* * *

I opened my eyes to see Hermione lying on the ground, blood covering her chest. Ron and Luna were already there, and Harry's glasses were askew. Neville sat down next to her, smiling gently.

"Hermione," said Neville, "thank you."

"For what?" Hermione asked weakly.

"For everything you did for me. Helping me out in potions class, or looking over my homework, and inviting me to the DA."

"You're welcome."

"Hermione." Harry couldn't look at her anymore, and turned away. "You don't deserve this."

"I don't deserve you," Hermione replied.

Harry started sobbing, leaning into me. "R-Ron," said Hermione.

"What is it?"

"C-Could y-you k-kiss me?" Ron bent down and kissed her once on the lips. She smiled, and then her eyes glazed over.

"Hermione," said Ron, trying to shake her awake. "Hermione!"

She didn't respond. Ron broke down in tears, and cried into Hermione's body. Harry stood up. "They will pay. We'll ambush them. Just after the shelves come down, and they split up, attack them."

They all nodded. Harry gently rubbed Ron's shoulders. "We need to move her."

Ron nodded, picking her up in his arms. "Where to?"

"We could put her under a prophecy shelf," suggested Luna. She had wiped away her tears.

"Speaking of, did anyone grab the prophecy?" asked Harry. They all shook their heads.

"Ok, then-" Harry was interrupted by the sound of the orb rolling on the ground. Harry looked at where it had come from, but he didn't see anything. "Thank you Harry," said Harry. "Do you know how to work it?"

"I just smashed it. You'll only be able to hear it once," replied the invisible Harry.

"Wait," said Ron, "are there two Harrys?"

"Yes," I said, trying not to . "Neville and I missed Hermione dea—the first time, so we came back with Harry, under his invisibility cloak."

"Ok," said Harry. "let's hear the Prophecy." Harry smashed the prophecy orb on the ground, and an image of Professor Trelawney appeared.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches, born to those thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies. The Dark Lord shall mark him as his equal, and he shall have the power the Dark Lord knows not. Neither can live while the other survives. The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches, born as the seventh month dies…"

"So that's the Prophecy…" said Neville.

"Yeah," I said. "What was that part about not living while the other survived?"

"I don't know," said Ron. "Why don't you ask Dumbledore later?"

"I can do that later. Now we wait," said Harry. "Harry, who should we go after?"

"Well," came the invisible voice, "Ron was fighting Malfoy, and Luna was taking on someone else. Ginny and Neville took down Mulciber, I think it was. Harry, could you give Ginny and Neville your invisibility cloak?"

Harry pulled out his invisibility cloak and handed it to me. The cloth was smooth and slippery. "Make sure what you remember happening happens." I nodded and slipped under the cloak, Neville disappearing under there moments later.

"You can hide out in row 101," said Harry. "I'm going to row 104."

Neville and I crept out into the Hall of Prophecies, and we made our way to row 101. I waited for a little while in silence, until I remembered that I needed to tell myself what to do. I stood up quietly.

"What are you doing?" asked Neville.

"I'm going to tell us what to do. Remember?" Neville nodded, and I ran off.

The door to the brain room was closed, and I opened it stealthily. Ginny's expression when she saw me was rather funny. Neville was looking between the two of us, confused. "Hello," I said.

"Hello," replied Ginny.

"I'm here to tell you what needs to happen," I said. "When you hear Harry calling for Sirius, clear out of here and search for the Death Eater with the blue wrist guard. Kill him."

"Kill him?" Ginny's face was horrified. I remembered how it felt when I told myself to do that, but I also know what will motivate her to do that. "Hermione is dead. One of the Death Eaters killed her. After you kill the Death Eater, Neville, you need to give a signal to Ron and Luna in row 69 after you get him. Wait for Harry to come to you. He'll put on his invisibility cloak, and you'll turn the Time Turner three times. Don't forget to tell me about this." With that, I left the room and headed back to Row 101.

"How'd it go?" asked Neville.

"Just like it should have," I replied. "Where did you see me fighting?" I left out the part about me being bloodied and beaten.

"Row 74." Neville was looking at me sadly. "You don't have to go."

"But I do. Harry's counting on us to eliminate all of the Death Eaters, and that's where one of them went."

Neville didn't respond. I looked away. I didn't want to see his sad face.

Harry began shouting for Sirius about an hour later. Then, when I heard Malfoy start talking, we moved out. Ron and Luna went down one end, while Neville and I went the other. Harry stayed behind.

I waited until Ginny reductoed the prophecy shelves, and shouted loudly to get a Death Eater's attention. One Death Eater narrowed in on me and chased me a ways. I stayed away from Row 74—I didn't want to think about that yet. When the Death Eater came around a bend, I reductoed him in the chest, and he flew back, gore spouting from his chest. I used another reducto for good measure, and walked away.

Having an idea, I used a silencing charm on myself. I wasn't going to be attacking anyone yet, so staying quiet would give me an advantage.

"Crucio!" The torture curse caught me off guard from behind. Pain. For that fleeting moment, all I felt was pain. Pure, unadulterated pain. I collapsed on the ground, and the Death Eater broke off the curse.

"Thought you wouldn't scream, eh? Try this on for size! Crucio!" The pain returned. It's actually quite hard to explain how it felt. I suppose if you were to compare it to knives driving into every inch of your nerves while flames ate away at your skin and being repeatedly impacted by heavy objects, you would get an idea of what the first second feels like.

I was screaming my lungs out in pain, it was so intense. I screamed in silence. No one heard. No one came. "You're surprisingly resistant. I suppose I'll have to loosen you up a little." The Death Eater grinned menacingly, and he used cutting curse after cutting curse until my arms and chest were covered in my own blood.

"Now, for the finale. CRUCIO MAXIMA!" I barely had time to register that he had added 'maxima' to the end of his curse before it struck. After being exposed to the regular Cruciatus curse, I thought I had experienced true pain. Now, it was worse. Pain doesn't begin to describe what the Cruciatus Maximus curse feels like. Perhaps an acid bath concurrent with a lava dipping and a topping of the regular Cruciatus multiplied twenty times over would give you just a minor portion of what I was feeling.

"In all my life," said the Death Eater with an oddly respectful tone, "I have never met a person who took the Cruciatus Maximus curse without screaming. I would like to have a little more fun with you, but I suppose our time is at an end. Avada Ked-"

"REDUCTO!" I had never before in all my life felt so glad to hear my brother's voice. "REDUCTO! REDUCTO! REDUCTO!" Ron took a breath. "REDUCTO!"

The Death Eater was gone. Obliterated by my brother's reductos. The lull in pain after the Cruciatus Maximus curse ended, and I writhed under the pain of my nerve endings eroding. "Ginny? What's wrong? Ginny? Ginny! GINNY! NO! Ginny, no!" My brother's voice started fading. I tried to concentrate on his voice, but the pain was too intense—I couldn't stop it! I focused on his voice, but it died away. Stopped reaching my ears.

Then, relief like never before. Blackness overtook me.

* * *

**Ron**

* * *

"REDUCTO!" I screamed. My spell caught the Death Eater in the back. "REDUCTO! REDUCTO! REDUCTO!" I took a breath. "REDUCTO!" The Death Eater was most certainly dead. But that didn't matter. Ginny was on the floor, breathing hard. Then she started writhing on the ground.

"Ginny? What's wrong?" I tried to stop her from shaking, but she kept freeing herself from my grasp. "Ginny? Ginny! GINNY! NO! Ginny, no!" I broke into sobs. Ginny had stopped moving completely. "GINNY!" I shook her, but she didn't respond. I clutched onto her blood covered robes, crying.

Ginny was dead.

It took me a minute to calm down. This was the second time tonight I had seen someone I loved die. It hurt. Where there had been a hole ripped into my heart when Hermione died, it was nothing like the gaping hole it was now. I was reminded of when I had heard Professor McGonagall tell the other staff that Ginny had been taken into the Chamber of Secrets. The anxiety had been horrible. Waiting in the dank dark chamber with a comatose Lockhart hadn't eased my worry either.

But now she was gone for good. Harry wasn't around to defeat another basilisk for to rescue her. I wanted to blame Harry, for bringing us here, but I couldn't, because he had tried to stop Neville, Luna, and Ginny from coming. He'd even tried to stop Hermione and I from coming. I wanted to blame myself, too. I could have gotten there faster. I could have.

But I hadn't. And Ginny was dead. I wiped off my tears. They would pay. Voldemort, his Death Eaters, the Ministry, even Hell itself. I didn't care what I had to face. I would avenge them both. Hermione and Ginny. I closed Ginny's eyes. I couldn't look into them anymore. Standing, I looked around. Hearing the sounds of a fight going off in one direction, I headed toward it cautiously.

When I turned the last corner, I was greeted by the sight of Neville's dead body lying on the floor. Harry was standing nearby, tears welling up in his eyes. "No more," he whispered to himself. "No more."

I didn't want to tell him. I couldn't. Hermione, Ginny, and now Neville? I didn't have a chance to think further. "Ron," said Harry determinedly. "I'm going to kill them. You with me?" I nodded ever so slightly.

"Harry." I couldn't get anything more out.

"What?"

"They-" I couldn't say it. But I had to. "They got Ginny." There. I had said it. Now it was final. Ginny was dead. Harry punched the shelf next to him. The nargle clinging to the shelf fled, and for a brief moment, I saw Ginny's face. Her smile planted itself into my brain.

"Harry, do you know how to see the nargles?" Harry shook his head.

"You look to the left of where they aren't, and to the right of where they are. Usually, they stay somewhere in between."

"And what do they look like?"

I pointed to where the nargles were still formed into Ginny's fierce smile.

I watched Harry's eyes, and sure enough, when he looked to the left of where they weren't, and to the right of where they were, and then somewhere in between, they widened. "Do you see their faces?"

Harry nodded, choked up. Luna appeared by his side, gently putting a hand onto his shoulder. "I think the world would be a better place if everyone could see nargles," said Luna.

"It would," agreed Harry. "Let's go." Together we started running down one of the rows of Prophecy shelves that was still standing. There was a door open on one end of the hall.

"Let's try there," suggested Harry. We ran up to the door, and inside were four Death Eaters. One of them was pressing a finger against his arm. Harry suddenly put a hand up to his scar, and Luna put her hand back on his shoulder.

"Hey!" I shouted. The four Death Eaters noticed us, and they drew their wands. A spell flew from behind us, and I looked back to see Harry.

* * *

**Harry**

* * *

My danger senses tingled for a moment when the spell came from behind and over our heads, but it passed when I saw who had cast it. It was me. I sighed mentally. It meant that my day wasn't over yet. "Harry, why are you here?"

"To stop from you from interfering," replied Harry. That wasn't good. He cast another spell and it collided against one of the Death Eater's shields. Having an idea, I shouted, "Focus on that one!" I cast my spell, and three others followed it near instantly. Luna's spell broke through the Death Eater's shield and struck him in the chest. It exploded in gore, and the other three Death Eaters started retaliating.

"Imperio!" shouted one of them. It almost hit Luna, but the other Harry moved in the way, and broke free of it moments later.

One of the Death Eaters snarled in anger and cast the killing curse. I had time to see where it was headed only for it to strike Luna in the chest. The light left her eyes as I watched for the third time today one of my friends die because of my actions. I didn't have the heart to remind myself that Ginny had died, too.

"NO!" I blasted the Death Eater down, killing him but the other two just fought back more vigorously.

"Give it up, Potter!" one of them screamed.

"Never! I'll never forgive you!" I cast three reductos in rapid succession, and broke through another Death Eater's shield one the third try, but he dodged the spell. I grunted in frustration. They'd stopped attacking and were focusing on defending, which meant they were trying to stall for something. My scar had just hurt a minute ago, so that meant…

A soft crack split the air. It otherwise wouldn't have been noticeable, but the power emitting from the newly appeared figure was so intense that it muffled the normally loud sound of apparating. The figure turned around, dressed in simple black robes, but the power emanating from him made it that much more impressive.

Lord Voldemort stepped forward from where he was standing near the veil. I froze. He was here. He smirked when he saw me, but frowned when he saw another me. He turned to his Death Eaters.

"Can you explain this, Rookwood?" His tone was cold, leaving no room for any stuttering.

"No, m'lord," Rookwood replied.

"Where is Lucius?" he inquired.

"Dead, m'lord," replied the other Death Eater.

"Then what about Bellatrix?"

The other Death Eater was quaking in fear. "What about the other eight? Where are they?"

Rookwood's voice was shaking in fear. "We are all that are still alive, m'lord."

Voldemort flung a curse at us, but I dodged it easily. "You mean to tell me that twelve of MY Death Eaters went up against three school children and lost?"

"There were six initially, m'lord," said the other Death Eater.

"And they came at us from all angles, m'lord," said Rookwood. "I believe they were using the same technique that is causing there to be two Harry Potters."

That turned his attention from his Death Eaters to us. "Harry Potter. You seem to be more competent than I first believed. After all, you took out ten of my Death Eaters."

"No," I replied, "I only took out two."

Voldemort raised his eyebrows. "I was the one who killed Lucius," proclaimed Ron. "And I killed one of the Lestrange brothers."

"Congratulations," said Voldemort. "You have managed to do far more damage to my cause in one night than the entirety of the last year before I disappeared."

"You're welcome," I replied.

"Your reward shall be death," declared Voldemort. He raised his wand and shouted, "Avada Kedavra!"

I barely had time to pull up my wand to try and cast a spell to save my life when I was jerked aside and the spell passed by me harmlessly. Then, I heard a chorus of "Stupefy!" on the other side of the room. Voldemort shielded against all four of the stunning spells, and he turned around in anger.

Lupin, Tonks, Moody, and Sirius were here. I watched as they started dueling with Voldemort. They mainly started out with disabling curses, but Moody soon gave up on simple Stupefys and switched to some Transfiguration and Charms. Voldemort smirked when he saw Moody deviating from the other's styles, and tried to exploit it, but Tonks caught on and followed suit, leaving Lupin and Sirius to use the hard hitters.

I didn't have that much time to watch them duel before the two Death Eaters turned their attention back on me. Spells started flying, and I had to dodge several deadly looking curses. Harry took a spell to the right arm that looked particularly painful, but he just grunted and retaliated with another "Reducto!"

Then, four things happened in rapid succession. First, Ron broke through one of the Death Eater's shield and killed him. Second, Rookwood, the other Death Eater, threw a killing curse and it struck Ron in the abdomen. His eyes widened for one long moment, and then they closed. Third, I killed Rookwood. Fourth, Lupin went down hard, leaving Sirius more exposed to Voldemort's battle prowess.

I wanted to run up to the stairs to help Sirius and the Order, but something held me back. Voldemort cast a vicious spell toward Tonks that I erected a shield against, but it shattered my shield and threw Tonks back against the wall. She was out of the fight.

Moody and Sirius intensified their efforts. I could tell it was taking all of their strength just to keep up with Voldemort. Sirius started taunting Voldemort. "Is that all you got? I was thinking you would be a little tougher, but I guess immortality will do that to a guy."

Voldemort's face broke out into fury, and he cast a tripping spell that caught Sirius in the ankle. It yanked his feet out from under him and he fell over, and he tried to recover his balance. Voldemort brandished his wand, lazily blocking a spell from Moody, and banished Sirius through the veil.

"SIRIUS!"

Voldemort whipped his wand around one more time and flung another curse at Moody, who collapsed in a heap on the floor. He stood, breathing heavily, and began casting.

Sirius, who had fallen through the veil, didn't come out on the other side. "SIRIUS!" I tried to run after him, to follow him into the veil, but Harry grabbed me on the arm and restrained me.

"Harry," he said painfully, "it's no use. He's gone."

"No," I sobbed desperately. "No. He can't be…" I trailed off.

"Harry, we have to get him." Harry jabbed his head in Voldemort's direction. He was just finishing off Moody. "We will get him."

I nodded. Never before had I hated someone so much as I did now. He was the reason. He was the reason my parents died. He was the reason that my friends had died tonight. He was the reason Sirius was dead. He would pay.

Voldemort turned around, a wicked grin adorning his lips. His eyes flashed in anticipation. He was ready for me. "So," he said, starting to circle around to the left. I followed his steps, circling around until we were directly across from each other with the veil to the side of us. "It begins."

We began. He threw spell after spell at me, and Harry shielded me while I threw curses of my own back at him. I was careful never to let our spells touch. It wouldn't do to be caught in Priori Incantatem right now. Our fight intensified. He didn't let up, using blasting curse after blasting curse, trying to get through Harry's shields, but they held up, seeming to focus in on a specific point which would then fizzle out the curse striking it.

I don't know how long we dueled, but it felt like forever. I was weakening, slowly but surely, and Voldemort held steady. Then, recalling what had happened to Sirius, I had an idea. From behind Voldemort, a third Harry appeared, dropping his invisibility cloak onto the floor, creeping up behind Voldemort.

Then he grabbed him from behind, and together, they fell through the veil. I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but I held my wand at the ready, waiting for something to happen. And it did. Two minutes later, both Harry and Voldemort appeared on the other side, grappling each other, their wands missing.

Voldemort seemed to be writhing in pain as he struggled against Harry. Something wasn't right with him. Meanwhile, Harry was fighting with Voldemort, but he seemed to be at peace about something. I couldn't tell what it was, but he seemed—I don't know—happy? Satisfied? Content? Whatever it was, it made Harry, even though he was fighting for his life, peaceful.

The Harry beside me raised his wand. For a long second, I wasn't sure what he was going to do with it. Then, he cast. It was the banishing curse. Harry and Voldemort flew back through the veil a second time, and I knew in my heart that they wouldn't come back. It was over.

I sagged to the floor. I was dead tired, but I knew that I had still more to go before my day was out. I looked back at Harry. He nodded, gesturing to my invisibility cloak that was tucked into my back pocket. "Go," was all he said. I understood completely. I threw the invisibility cloak over myself and pulled the Time Turner out from under my robes. I spun it once, and the world flashed once.

I was still in the veil room, but no one was in it. I suspected from the quietness outside that nothing important had happened yet. I stepped outside the room, and waited under my invisibility cloak as I heard myself call for Sirius, and Ginny blasting down the shelves, and the utter chaos the resulted. I heard Ron's panicked screams for Ginny, and my pathetic sobs over Neville. When Harry, Luna, and Ron came up toward the room, following Rookwood and the other Death Eaters, I put the invisibility cloak in my back pocket.

When Harry turned around after dodging my "Expelliarmus!", he sighed. "Harry, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to prevent you from interfering," I replied. I hadn't told me what I meant, and I knew that I hadn't like my answer. But I had to stop Harry from killing myself before I needed to. After all, I had to die when I went through the veil the second time.

I followed alongside Harry, Ron, and Luna as we entered the veil room. This time, I inspected the one Death Eater with his sleeve rolled up. He was pressing the Dark Mark, and Harry was putting his hand up to his scar. Funnily enough, I didn't feel a thing. Must have to do with the time travel.

We dueled with the Death Eaters, but I tried to save as much energy as I could—I needed to conserve it for my fight with Voldemort. Luna fell, and then Voldemort arrived. His presence was still as foreboding as the previous time. Even though I knew I would be all right after our initial bout, I was still scared. He had that much of a presence.

The Order arrived a minute later, and I managed to save my own life by pulling him aside with a directed summoning charm. One by one, the Order and the Death Eaters fell, along with Ron, until Sirius fell through the veil. Moody was blasted back against the wall, and I cast a softening charm on it before he collided with it.

"SIRIUS!" cried out Harry. I grabbed him by the arm. He looked back at me, and I saw the tears I hadn't noticed flowing down my face the first time.

"Harry," I said, my voice straining to get the words out, "it's no use. He's gone."

"No. No," denied Harry, "He can't be…."

"We have to get him," I said, trying to be encouraging. "We will get him."

He just nodded resolutely, and we began to duel. Our fight went just as I remembered it, and using my memory, I tried to use less energy while fighting to block Voldemort's shots. Since I knew where they would strike, I could focus my energy on blocking that specific point, rather than trying to harden the entire shield to that particular density of magic that it would take to block the shot normally.

I kept shielding Harry until I saw Harry pull off the invisibility cloak and throw himself and Voldemort through the veil. I didn't know why it took about two minutes for them to fall through the veil, but I didn't question it. Harry and Voldemort grappled for about another minute, before I decided to put Voldemort out of his misery. I didn't know what the veil had done to him the first time, but it had shaken something within him that had allowed us to beat him.

I gestured to Harry's invisibility cloak, and he used it and his Time Turner to go back in time. Remembering the other Time Turner, I fished it off of Luna's neck. She was so peaceful in death, and her face had the same quirkiness it had held in life. I only hoped the nargles would never forget her.

I tried to provide some first aid to Lupin, Tonks, and Moody, but the spells Voldemort had used had put them out of my care level. After about a minute, I gave up and sat down by the veil, and for the second time, I listened to the voices that escaped from the veil.

Two minutes later, Dumbledore ran into the veil room, and when he saw me, he smiled faintly. "Harry."

"Professor," I replied.

He took a look at Ron and Luna, and back to me. "I want to apologize, Harry, for what happened here tonight."

"It's not your fault," I said, shaking my head.

"It's not yours," responded Dumbledore.

"I know that. It's Voldemort's. He's the one to blame." Dumbledore looked at me appraisingly.

"That is quite true, Harry. Now, as I am quite in the dark about tonight's events, I wouldn't mind hearing your story."

I told him everything. About my vision of Sirius being tortured, running off to the Ministry, taking the Time Turners, Hermione dying, my hearing the prophecy, Neville, Ginny, Luna, Ron, and Sirius's deaths, and my final fight with Voldemort. It took about fifteen minutes, and by the end, Dumbledore was crying softly. "Harry, m'boy, you are one of the bravest people I have ever met," he said.

"Thank you." There was a slight pause. "Professor, I do have a question, though."

"Ask away, Harry."

"Why did both Voldemort and I not die the first time we fell through the veil? Sirius died the first time, but neither did Voldemort or I. Why?"

"Harry," Dumbledore replied, "it has to do with the way that Voldemort kept himself alive when you defeated him on Halloween all those years ago. You see, Voldemort created these artifacts called horcruxes."

"What are horcruxes?" I asked.

"Horcruxes are some of the darkest magic out there. It involves splitting your soul into parts and storing them inside objects. Voldemort created several, and that was what kept him from dying that night."

I thought about it for a moment. "Was the diary a horcrux?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Indeed it was, Harry. In fact, that was made me suspicious of him using horcruxes."

"So when he went through the veil, his horcruxes were destroyed?" I asked for clarification.

"Precisely."

"Then what about me? Why did I survive the first time?"

"It has to do with the nature of your scar, Harry," Dumbledore said sadly. "For the last little while, I had suspected, hoping it wasn't the case, but suspected that you might be one of Voldemort's horcruxes."

"I'm a horcrux?" I asked, horrified.

"Your scar gave you insights into Voldemort's mind, didn't it? And you could feel his emotions. Part of his soul split off that night when he tried to kill you, and it latched onto you, the only living thing left in the house."

"So when I went through the veil, the horcrux was destroyed?"

"Just like Voldemort's were," said Dumbledore. "Harry, I wish you the best of luck. Before you go, is there any last words or wishes?"

"Well, anything I have I'd like to give to the Weasleys. And some of my gold to Hermione and Luna's parents. My invisibility cloak can go to the twins, and I would like you, Professor, to have my wand." I handed my wand to Dumbledore.

"Harry, I can't take this," he said.

"It will be destroyed if it comes through the veil with me. If you really don't want it, you can give it back to Ollivander, and whoever can use it can have it free of charge."

"I will do that, Harry. Anything else?"

"Yes." Dumbledore looked at me quizzically. "What is it, Harry?"

"I want you to tell the world how to see nargles," I said.

"How do you see nargles, Harry?"

"You look to the left of where they aren't, and to the right of where they are. Usually, they stay somewhere in between," I replied. "Try it," I urged, pointing to a spot just above the veil. "There are some right over there."

Dumbledore closed his eyes for a moment, and looked to the left of where they were, and to the right of where they are, and then focused somewhere in between. His breath hitched for a moment. I couldn't tell who he saw, only that it comforted him in some way as a tear ran down his face. "Thank you for showing me that, Harry."

I nodded. "Thank you for everything, Professor." With that, I pulled on my invisibility cloak and spun the Time Turner once, leaving a crying Professor Dumbledore behind, holding my wand reverently.

I had to duck a stray spell almost instantly, and had to watch my Godfather fall through the veil a third time. Strangely, it hurt more to witness it now, than it had the first time. I empathized with Sirius; I would be following him soon enough. "SIRIUS!" cried my former self.

I waited. Harry and Harry were struggling to even hold even with the Dark Lord, and it was tough to watch, even though I knew how it would turn out. I surreptitiously placed some shields in front of both Harrys, just so that it would be easier on them. Spells flew back and forth, until Harry had his idea, and then I slipped off the invisibility cloak, and quietly snuck up behind him. I waited until Voldemort was about to cast another spell, and grabbed him, throwing us toward the veil.

For a long moment, we sailed through the air, and I heard the voices coming from the veil one more time. They whispered words I could not make out, but they were definitely there. I had a second to think why there were voices.

We fell through the veil.

Going through the veil was something I can't quite explain. It felt—soft. But there was a fundamental something that you can't explain. If I could explain it, I would, but as I can't, I'll let your imagination fill it in. The softness enveloped me, and I fell unconscious.

I woke up in a bed, my head resting on a pillow made of comfortable cotton and embroidered with golden leaves. The quilt was made up of small squares depicting events that I recognized and some I didn't. There was a square with me as a baby being held by my mother, and another with me riding a small broom when I was no older than one. Other squares included my first Quidditch match, Hermione, Ron, and I smiling together, riding the Ford Anglia to Hogwarts, drinking the Polyjuice Potion, fighting the basilisk with Fawkes, my first encounter with the Dementors, using my Patronus to fight off the Dementors later that year, myself fighting the dragon in the first task, using Gillyweed in the second task, grabbing the Cup with Cedric, and then the Priori Incantatem with Voldemort, among countless others.

The room itself was painted with a large mural of Hogwarts, each of the four walls depicting one of the common rooms. There were a collection of chairs littered along the bedside, and this is where my focus turned. Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna, and Ron were all sitting beside me.

"Harry!" exclaimed Hermione, who threw her arms around my neck. Ginny did the same moments later.

"Guys!" I laughed back. "What're you doing here?"

"Well, I could ask you the same thing," responded Hermione.

I hung my head sheepishly. "It was the only way."

"Probably not," said Ron, "but it's the way you chose. Good fight."

"Thanks." I turned to Hermione. "Hermione, I'm sorry what I did led to-"

"Harry," she interrupted, "I don't care. What's done is done."

"I still wanted to apologize, though," I replied. "I wouldn't feel right if I didn't."

"You wouldn't be Harry if you didn't try to take the blame," said Ron.

"I wasn't taking the blame, I was apologizing. That goes for all of you."

"You're forgiven," said Luna softly. She kissed me on the forehead once.

"I also want to thank you guys for sticking with me," I said. "I couldn't have done this without you. Maybe next time we can try to get things done without resorting to all of that time travel. It was giving me some headaches."

"Agreed," chorus everyone except Hermione. We all looked at her.

"What?" she asked. "It was easy enough for me to understand." I shook my head in exasperation.

"Of course it was, Hermione. We all know you're a genius," said Ron. Hermione pinked a little.

"Anyway," I said, "do you know how to get out of this place? I need to finish Voldemort off for good."

"What do you mean, finish him off for good?" asked Ginny. "Didn't you just do that?"

"No. He had a way to cheat death twice, but now he can't."

"What do you mean?" asked Hermione.

"I mean that I just need to go back and push him through the veil one more time."

"Harry," she said, "you're dead. You can't leave here."

"If I was traditionally dead, yes, I couldn't, but his way of cheating death involved tying me to himself, and without that, I would be dead. Since I'm not, I'll have to come through again."

"Are you sure?" asked Hermione.

"Positive," I replied. "I've seen it already."

"Right you are," laughed Hermione.

"If you're ready, then," said Ginny. She was giving me one last chance to back out. But I knew what I had to do. I nodded. "Sirius, he's ready to go back through!"

The door in the Gryffindor Common Room opened up, revealing Sirius. "Sirius!" I cried.

"Harry!" he shouted back. "You're almost late! Get on through here!" I hopped out of bed, and followed Sirius out the door. There was another room, pure white in color, and a veil hanging over the spot where a door would normally be.

"I'll be right back," I said.

"See you in a few," he agreed. Without looking back, I walked through the veil a second time.

I fell out of the veil, grappling with Voldemort. His face was purple with fury, his normally red eyes losing their luster, and I thought I saw a speck of white inside them. I focused on directing us back toward the veil, where Harry would push us through again, without letting Voldemort gain an advantage over me. I caught Harry's eye, and with a sad expression, pushed us back through the veil. It was over. I had won.

* * *

**A/N2: That's that. I'll be posting an epilogue sometime next week, and I'll also post my story notes (some of them, anyway) at the bottom of that, so you can reference it, if need be (I'm fairly certain you will. Just saying). Thanks for taking the time to read this, and to become outsane alongside me. Until I return in the near future (five days, to be exact).**


	2. Epilogue

**A/N: Well, here's the epilogue, one day late. This turned out to be a little longer than I intended it to be, so that's why it's late; otherwise, enjoy!**

* * *

**Professor Dumbledore**

* * *

For a few minutes, I allowed myself to mourn Harry and his friends. Brave Harry. When Severus had flooed the Order Headquarters, saying that Harry was off to try and find Sirius in the Department of Mysteries, I had been absent; I was trying to locate one of Tom's horcruxes. I had found a lead, but when Severus's patronus told me what was going on, I immediately apparated to the Ministry.

However, I was sidetracked by the interruption of Cornelius, who tried to arrest me. It held me up for a few vital moments, and because of that, Harry was dead. Poor, brave, loving Harry.

I pulled myself together. I needed to inform Cornelius of what had happened. Slowly, I stood, bearing the weight of guilt on my old and weary shoulders. Harry's wand felt heavy in my hand, and I quickly conjured a golden-lined box in which to put it into. I couldn't bear holding it in my hands any longer.

As I was about to leave the veil of death behind me, I heard a whispering. Turning around, I saw the formation of nargles I had seen earlier. Rather than Ariana's smiling face projected out to me, I saw Harry's, full of vibrant laughter. He was truly happy now, going on the next adventure, wherever that would take him.

Choking up, I turned away. I did not need the reminder of my failures. But even as I started to walk, I thought I heard Harry's voice one last time, saying, "Professor, I forgive you." Those four words stopped my heart. Whether or not they had been imagined or fabricated, I felt comfort. My burden seemed lighter. I wiped the tears that had collected on my cheeks and looked ahead. I had a job to do.

The world needed to know what nargles really were.

* * *

**Molly Weasley**

* * *

I was about ready to go to bed when I happened upon the family clock in the living room. My heart stopped in my mouth. While Arthur and my clock hands were pointed at 'Home', and Fred, George, Bill, Percy, and Charlie were at 'Work', Ron and Ginny's hands were pointed at 'Mortal Peril'.

"Arthur!" I called up the stairs. He was already on his way up to bed, but I had to get his attention. "Come down here, quickly!"

"Yes, dear," he hollered back down. "I'll only be a minute."

"Arthur, Ron and Ginny are in 'Mortal Peril!'" I cried. Arthur moved down the stairs so fast he might have apparated.

"What?"

I pointed to the clock, and seeing the two hands on the clock suddenly reminded me of the last war. Arthur pulled out his wand, and muttered, "Expecto Patronum!"

A brilliant white weasel burst forth from his wand, and Arthur ordered it to send a message to Dumbledore. The next few minutes were tense, and Arthur stood, stroking my shoulders. I registered the comfort, but it didn't seem to have any effect—I was still terrified with fear.

There came a knock on the door. Arthur rushed to open it, but I still stood in front of the clock, waiting, wishing, hoping that the hands would move away to 'School', or 'Traveling', or even 'Dentist'.

Arthur came back into the room, followed by a weary Remus Lupin. He looked like he had just come out of a battle, and not emerging unscathed. Rather, he had several bruises and a number of open wounds, but otherwise he seemed fine. At least, on the surface he did.

"Molly," he said politely, but in his tone was something else, a great sadness that I could not place. "There has been an incident at the Ministry."

"What happened? Where are Ron and Ginny? Are they safe? Please tell me they're safe!" I pleaded.

"A dozen Death Eaters broke into the Department of Mysteries, trying to steal the weapon." I gasped.

"What happened?"

Lupin grimaced. "Harry had a vision-" he started to say, but I interrupted him.

"Harry? Is Harry alright? Where is he?" Lupin held up his hands.

"Please, let me finish, Molly." He was almost begging. There was deep pain in his voice, a loss so great I couldn't—wouldn't, guess what it was that was on his heart. I nodded.

"Harry had a vision of Sirius being tortured, in the DoM, and ran off to the Ministry to try and rescue him. He wasn't alone."

"Who was with him?" I had a feeling I knew who, but I had to be sure.

"Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood." My heart began to sink. It couldn't be! I couldn't accept it! Never!

"They fought off the Death Eaters, killing them all, but…" Lupin trailed off.

"They killed them?" asked Arthur in horror.

"All twelve of them," Lupin confirmed. "But-" His voice choked up. He put a hand over his face, and relaxed. But his expression was still troubled.

"But what?" I demanded.

"They're all—dammit, I can't!" Lupin broke down sobbing. "I can't." He leaned against the wall, and saw the clock. He seemed unsurprised that Ron and Ginny's hands were pointing at 'Mortal Peril'.

"Tell me," I ordered him desperately. "Please, tell me."

"Molly," Lupin started, taking a deep breath, "they didn't make it."

"What do you mean they didn't make it?" I asked.

"They're….they're dead," Lupin said finally. His eyes met mine, and I could see nothing but the honest, brutal truth staring back at me.

"No," I whispered. "No. You don't mean that. You don't!" I was denying it. I knew in my head that he was telling the truth, but my heart couldn't accept it.

"Molly," Lupin said, "I wish more than anything in the world that what I'm telling you wasn't true." His voice cracked. "More than anything."

I leaned into Arthur, and he held me tight. "Where are they now?"

"They being analyzed by Unspeakables right now, to determine the cause of death. However, Harry…." Lupin broke down again.

"What happened to him?" Arthur asked.

"There isn't a body. He went through the veil." Lupin was letting the tears flow freely now, but he still managed to talk.

"What about the Death Eaters? Who was there?"

"Lucius Malfoy, the Lestranges, all of them, Dolohov, and a few others."

"Malfoy, the Lestranges, and Dolohov? And they managed to beat them?" Arthur asked incredulously.

"Apparently. The Unspeakables also discovered a bit of temporal radiation around the Department. I know for a fact that Harry used at least two Time Turners."

"How do you know for sure?"

"Because I saw two Harrys fighting against a group of Death Eaters, and after that, Voldemort himself."

"You-Know-Who was there?" I asked in fear.

"Yes, and he beat me, Tonks, Moody, and Sirius in a straight fight. He got Sirius, too. But Harry beat him."

"Beat him?" breathed Arthur.

"Pushed him right through the veil. I don't remember anything after that—I fell unconscious."

A phoenix patronus illuminated the room. "Molly, Arthur, please come to the Ministry," was all Dumbledore said, but I could hear the weariness in his voice.

"Let's go," said Arthur. He apparated us to the worker's entrance. I barely remembered what happened next, it was all a blur. But what I remembered next I will remember for the rest of my life.

Ron and Ginny lay side by side on white stretchers, and I ran up to them as fast as my legs could carry me. Ron was closer, so I went to him first. There appeared to be nothing wrong—his freckles caught in the light, and his nose had a spot of dirt on it that never seemed to wear off. But as I ruffled his hair, I knew. He was gone. His eyes didn't open, his chest wasn't rising and falling, his usual snores silent. An Unspeakable was standing beside them.

"How did he-" I started to ask, before the tears could come.

"Killing Curse. Struck him in the abdomen." I nodded, reminded of Gideon. Gideon had been felled by a killing curse in the same place.

I turned my attention from Ron to Ginny. Her fiery red hair fell about her head, but her usual bright smile was absent, the fire in her eyes extinguished. But all over her body I could see lacerations and deep cuts into her skin. The Unspeakable heard the unspoken question, an answered it for me.

"She bled to death, but after being tortured under the Cruciatus Curse multiple times." Again, I was reminded of my older brothers, but this time of Fabian—tortured to death for information, but he never broke, never told them anything. In fact, he reportedly never even screamed.

"How long?"

"Several minutes, but...that wasn't the extent of it. Her torturer used the Cruciatus Maximus curse on her, and held her under it for at least twenty seconds."

"Twenty seconds?" The Cruciatus Maximus Curse—the ultimate pain inducing device, was a spell rarely used, mainly because of what it did to its target. Usually, after even a five second exposure, the victim went insane. Frank Longbottom was the primary example—after fifteen seconds under the curse, he retreated into his own mind, never to return again.

"I was part of the investigation crew. We used some Time Turners to see what happened, and I have to admire your daughter's courage. She never even made a sound, even under the Maximus. She was still conscious after the Maximus, now that I recall. You son came to her side, as she was dying. I think she tried to tell him something, but I couldn't make it out."

I stroked Ginny's hair. Somehow, even though the pain of my loss was starting to creep into my heart, I felt comforted. "Thank you," I said to the Unspeakable.

"For what?" the Unspeakable asked uncomfortably.

"Nothing." But it meant everything to me.

* * *

**Augusta Longbottom**

* * *

The owl came in through the window at exactly 12:49 a.m. I can remember, because the envelope wasn't the usually color, nor was the ink. The red ink contrasted the black envelope with a deathly finality. My hands shaking, I took the letter from the owl. I had only received one other letter like this—a letter telling me my husband had died.

I broke the seal and pulled out the letter before I could stop myself. The letter was short and to the point—my kind of letter. But its contents were not to my liking.

Dear Madam Longbottom, it read, we are sorry to inform you that at approximately 10:22 p.m. this evening, on the 18th of June, within the Department of Mysteries, your grandson, Neville Longbottom, died after being struck with the Blasting Hex. The body is currently located in the Department of Mysteries.

Best regards,

The Ministry of Magic

I lay the letter on my desk and stood up. I had to visit my grandson.

Twenty minutes later, I was doing just that. Having heard from the Unspeakables what had happened on the way to my grandson's deathbed, I was both remarkably sadden and incredibly proud. It is a strange combination, to feel both of those emotions at the same time, especially since I had very little to be proud of in my grandson.

But that didn't matter. My grandson did. He had a large wound in his lungs that had killed him, but he was wearing the goofiest smile I had seen on him, ever. Perhaps being dead made it all the sillier, but at the same time, I knew that my grandson had died doing what he thought was right—proving his loyalty to his friends. It reminded me of Frank—how he was so set in his beliefs about what he needed to do, and then did it.

Neville's smile portrayed all that seriousness, but had the same joviousness that Frank had throughout his life. For the first time in my life, I truly was proud of Neville. He finally became the wizard that I knew he could be. If only he could hear me tell him that.

* * *

**Dan Granger**

* * *

I rose at 6 o'clock sharp. I always had. Always will. After a short shower, I sat down to my usual breakfast of two fried eggs, three pieces of bacon, and two slices of toast and picked up the morning paper. My wife would be up in about fifteen minutes, so now was the best time to be alone.

The news was fairly boring, although my team was doing well, but the worst day of my life began when I heard the knock at the door. Shoving the last of my final piece of toast into my mouth, I dusted off my hands and stood up to get the door. When I opened it, I saw someone who I had never met, but had been described to me on numerous occasions by Hermione.

A long flowing robe, half moon spectacles, and a white beard that was tucked into his waist. That was how Hermione had described him, and it was accurate. Headmaster Albus Dumbledore stood right in front of me, a sad expression on his face. I recognized the expression instantly—I had to use a couple of times myself when I was in the army—he was bringing bad news.

"Mr. Granger," said the old man, "my name is Albus Dumbledore, and I think we need to have a talk."

"Alright." I held the door open, and he came in. He didn't take any particular notice to anything except for the bowl of lemon drops that Emma always kept, even though I was constantly telling her that eating them was bad for her teeth.

We sat down at the kitchen table. I looked up at the clock. 6:24, it read. Six minutes until Emma would normally wake up. "Would you mind if I woke my wife? I have a feeling she'll want to hear this, too."

"I don't mind at all," said Headmaster Dumbledore. "Would you mind if I had a lemon drop? I can't seem to drop the addiction."

"Help yourself. Maybe if you eat them all, Emma will finally stop eating them herself." Headmaster Dumbledore chuckled, and I went back up the stairs to wake up Emma.

I roused her with a shake. "What's up?" she asked, sitting up on one arm.

"Headmaster Dumbledore is here," I explained. "He says he needs to have a talk with us."

"This early in the morning?" She yawned.

"I think he was trying to catch us before we went to work, honey."

"I'll be down in two minutes."

"And by then, perhaps the Headmaster will have finished off your lemon drops. I gave him permission to eat as many as he likes." Emma's eyes flashed, and she was out of bed in an instant. I left the room, and fifteen seconds later, she emerged, wearing a T-shirt and jeans that didn't match. I didn't comment on her apparel as we walked down the stairs.

Emma sat down beside me, and grabbed a lemon drop from the now depleted bowl. Three wrappers now decorated the kitchen table, but Dumbledore swallowed once, and cleared his throat.

"Is there anything wrong with Hermione or her schoolwork?" asked Emma.

"Yes and no," replied Dumbledore. "Do you mind if I give you a little background information before I tell you why I'm here?"

I looked at Emma, and then up at the clock. It read 6:26. We had some time before we needed to be at the office at 8. "Go ahead," said Emma. "I'm always game for learning new stuff."

"Very well. About twenty years ago, a man who called himself Lord Voldemort started a terrorist group that tried to take over the Wizarding World. It was a very dark time, and he and his followers killed many people, both wizards and muggles alike. That is, until he was defeated by an infant named Harry Potter. You probably have met the boy." We nodded. At the end of Hermione's second year, she had introduced her friends Ron and Harry.

"Anyway, Voldemort was presumably killed, and his followers were either killed or imprisoned. However, at the end of the last school year, he used a dark ritual to fashion himself a new body. He broke out his followers from prison, and had been readying he and his followers for another war.

"Last night, Voldemort sent a vision to Harry, showing him his godfather being tortured deep within the Ministry itself. Harry, caring for his godfather a great deal, gathered his friends, including Hermione, and went to London to try and rescue him."

From how Dumbledore was talking, I knew where he was going. I think Emma did too, but neither of us interrupted him. As much as I wanted not to hear this, I had to as well. I needed to know if Hermione was safe, or if she….wasn't.

"It was a trap; Voldemort was luring Harry there to retrieve a weapon that neither he nor his Death Eaters, nor anyone but Harry, could retrieve. Twelve of Voldemort's most powerful Death Eaters were lying in wait until Harry appeared and removed the weapon. Harry, Hermione, and their friends managed to defeat all of the Death Eaters, but…."

"But what?" asked Emma.

"Everyone—Harry, Hermione, and their four friends, died in the process." Dumbledore looked sorrowfully at us. "I am truly sorry for your loss."

"You're lying," said Emma.

"How I wish I was."

"You're lying!" shouted Emma. "Hermione isn't dead." She was whispering now. "She's not. She's just fine."

Dumbledore lowered his head. "Honey," I said, but she cut me off.

"Don't you go believing him."

"I was going to say to Headmaster Dumbledore that he should prove it. Let us see Hermione."

Emma didn't protest. Dumbledore rose slowly. "If you would take my arm," he said to Emma. "I shall be back momentarily."

With a soft crack, both he and Emma disappeared. I blinked. I hadn't seem a real display of magic since Professor McGonagall had shown that Hermione was a witch, mainly because of the law against underage magic. I had wanted to see what she could do for so long, but now? Now I might not be able to. Ever.

Even if Emma was in denial, I knew that Dumbledore was telling the truth. He had no reason to lie. I didn't want to accept his words as truth. But the finality with which he spoke, his depressed demeanor, that all pointed toward the truth. The truth that my baby girl—my Hermione—was dead. I could have cried. But I didn't. My wife needed me to be strong, for her, and for myself.

Dumbledore reappeared in my kitchen, and I took the proffered arm. The next thing I knew, I felt like I was being squeezed through a small tube while being twisted around. Then, I was somewhere else altogether. The first thing I saw was Emma kneeling beside a white bed. On the bed lay Hermione. She might have been asleep, had it not been for the way she lay there without moving an inch, her chest lying still, rather than moving up and down, like it should.

I knelt beside my wife and put an arm around her shoulders. She put her head on my shoulder, and began to cry. I gave her shoulders a light squeeze, and stroked Hermione's hair with my other hand. Her bushy, brown hair that had frizzled so often when it was damp outside or she got really really worried about something. Her eyes were closed, and it spared me the pain of looking into their emptiness, where there used to be excitement and curiosity. Her lips were curved upward in a slight smile, one that conveyed the environment of where she died. She hadn't died instantly. No. She had died surrounded by friends who loved her, no matter the quirks, who respected her for who she was, and supported her as she supported them.

Looking down at my daughter, my beautiful, wonderful baby girl, I felt the tears start to well up in my eyes. I wiped them away, and held Emma tighter. Hermione had been happy, while she was here. Now she was gone; I was still here. Maybe I am still needed for something.

* * *

**Fudge the Incompetent!**

By Papyra Inkler and Xenophilius Lovegood

Last night, the Ministry's defenses were breached for the first time ever—not once—but twice! The first time by twelve Death Eaters, trying to steal an as of yet indeterminate object from the Department of Mysteries. But the second time was by six school children! School children!

Not only was Fudge the reason for this lack of security, he didn't even realize that there was a threat at all until Dumbledore himself showed back up at the Ministry. Fudge reportedly tried to arrest Dumbledore on the spot, but Dumbledore wouldn't have any of that. After informing Fudge that there were intruders in the Ministry, Dumbledore headed off to put down the insurgents, only to find that all of the intruders, both Death Eater and School Child alike, had offed each other.

But that isn't the biggest of the shockers! Lucius Malfoy was found among the dead Death Eaters, and everyone knows he's had the Minister's ears for years now. Just think of all the Death Eater-friendly laws he could have and has passed through! Fudge gave out favors in return for money so many times you could fill up a Gringotts vault a knut per bribe.

Fudge's incompetence doesn't stop there. Our readers may recall the Hogwarts High Inquisitor and current Headmistress, Madam Dolores Umbridge. Our inside sources from Hogwarts say that she has started up a totalitaristic regime, punishing students for voicing their opinion, banning our publication, bringing in students for questionings not entirely legal, and even torturing student with the use of a blood quill! She's carried Fudge's stamp of approval since the very beginning, and we can only imagine what else she has done or may do in the future!

The final nail in Fudge's coffin is Harry Potter himself. Ostracized by the Minister as of late, Fudge completely refused any proof that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had returned, so far as to not only ignore the tragic death of Cedric Diggory at You-Know-Who's hands, but to also silence the man who had helped orchestrate the entire scheme and infiltrate into Hogwarts! Harry Potter ended up taking matters into his own hands last night, when, did he not only stop the Death Eaters from stealing the weapon they had been after, but finished off You-Know-Who for good, even at the cost of his own life!

All of this evidence of Fudge's corruption, blatant favoritism, and utter incompetence shows what kind of a man we have put into the Ministerial position. We at the Quibbler ask that you review his actions of late, and decide for yourselves whether or not he is the man you want leading your country.

More about the mistakes of Fudge's administration on page 4, and Albus Dumbledore confirms the existence of nargles, page 17

* * *

**Remus Lupin**

* * *

Harry's funeral did not take place for another few days, as it was to be a public event, and in the meantime I attended the funerals of Luna Lovegood and Hermione Granger. I did not know Luna well at all, as I only had one class with her, and while attentive, seemed to focus on other things than what was actually in the lesson; not that she did badly—she was in Ravenclaw for a reason.

However, attending Hermione's funeral was a much more trying affair, as it was a muggle funeral, and I had to watch over five Weasleys to prevent them from inadvertently revealing the Wizarding World. I especially had to watch over the twins. Lord knows how many incidents I had caught them in at Hogwarts.

We had a reasonable cover story for the other muggles in Hermione's family—that a terrorist group had attacked the place where she had been while on a field trip, and had gotten killed. I was playing the role of the concerned Professor attending the funeral of one of his favorite students, and the Weasleys had wanted to come along as well.

Ron and Ginny were not to be buried until after Harry was. Neville's was scheduled for the day after that. I had a hard time picturing that bumbling, accident-prone boy taking down Bellatrix Lestrange in one on one combat. His smile was far too kind, his nature too gentle. The one thing that had struck me most about Neville was his love of plants. I had heard on many occasions a discussion between him and some other Herbology student while on staff.

But the day was finally here when Harry was to be buried. I hadn't fully prepared myself for the event when I arrived—plenty early, because when else would I come? While I was underprepared for the event itself, that paled in comparison to the amount of people attending his funeral. Practically the entire Ministry showed up, families in tow, and there were a fair amount of foreigners there as well. I recognized both of the other Triwizard Tournament champions in the sea of people, both talking animatedly to other people. I noticed that the Veela had acquired Bill Weasley as a companion, but Victor seemed alone and friendless, even as a Quidditch superstar.

Harry's funeral was long and drawn out, as there were about fifteen speakers and several were quite long-winded. I had declined to speak; I wasn't interested in telling all of these people what Harry meant to me. What he meant to me didn't apply to anyone else—just me.

After Harry's funeral, I went to the cemetery along with the Weasleys, Dumbledore, several of the staff members, and some other members of the Order. The Dursleys didn't even show up. He was laid to rest, alongside his parents, with the same inscription as his parents, The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. Harry had definitely defeated Death; that I was sure of.

I was about to leave Godric's Hollow when Tonks stopped me. She had a strange expression on her face, one I couldn't quite place. "Going somewhere?" she asked.

"Somewhere," I replied. I had no idea where I was heading off to. I didn't have any place to go.

"Do you mind if I come with?"

"No, I don't." She hooked her arm in mine, and I started walking. I wasn't sure where I was going. But I had someone to go with, and that made all the difference.

* * *

Harry

* * *

It was weird watching yourself get buried, even if there wasn't a body. I lost count of how many people were there about ten minutes after people started filing in for the funeral. It was especially strange considered how I had villainized throughout the past year. There were only two speakers I recognized—Dumbledore and Mr. Weasley. Dumbledore had talked a lot about my adventures, and what I had done, while Mr. Weasley talked about what I had meant to him. I was his seventh son, in his eyes.

I had tears in my eyes when Mr. Weasley finished. His speech wasn't anything elegant, and he hadn't prepared much for it, but it was my favorite out of them all. I spotted several people who I never expected to be there, including Victor Krum, Fleur Delacour, the Malfoys (what was left of them, anyway), and Snape. I didn't expect Snape to show up at all. In fact, I would have thought that he would be celebrating my death, but he appeared to be genuinely sad. It was something I couldn't figure out.

I spotted Lupin leaving the group, most likely to mope about, but he was stopped by Tonks. They left together, apparating so someplace I didn't care to look for at the moment.

Then, I felt a hand place itself on my shoulder. I looked up, and saw two people I had never expected to see, ever. My parents. Mum enveloped me in a hug, and I hugged her back. Dad joined in the family hug a moment later. We stood there for I don't know how long, rejoining our spirits. I could feel Mum's love rolling off her in waves, and Dad's strong arms held me tight, but not too tight.

"Mum, Dad," I said after a minute or so of silence.

"Harry," said Mum, smiling brilliantly, "I've never been more proud of you."

"Though I might have been hoping for a few grandchildren first," joked Dad. Mum hit Dad on the arm, but I just laughed. It figured that Dad would have to make some sort of joke.

"So, what do you think of my funeral?" I asked, not knowing what else to say. What do you do with parents who you haven't seen in fourteen years? How do you act around them?

"Well, I could do without the -eral, but otherwise it's okay," said Dad. It took me a second to get the joke, but when I did, I laughed again. Mum just rolled her eyes.

"Have you been practicing your jokes for Sirius?" I asked, winking. "You know he's going to test you on them."

Dad's face grew so horrified that even Mum started to laugh. But he held that expression so long I wondered what was wrong.

"Oh no," whimpered Dad. "What'll Sirius say? I haven't been practicing my jokes at all! What have I been doing all this time?"

"You've been growing into a more responsible person," said Mum. "You're beyond such jokes now."

"No," I said, "he's just degenerated into a cranky old geezer." Dad took a good natured swing at me for that, but I dodged it easily. Then he took a more serious tone.

"I really am proud of you, son. I've never met anyone else as brave as you."

"I didn't do that much," I protested.

"Oh, really?" asked Mum. "What about when you rescued the Philosopher's Stone, or when you killed the basilisk, or when you drove off those dementors, or when you retrieved the golden egg from the dragon, or when you fought Voldemort to a draw, twice, and purposefully went through the veil? What about all of those times?"

I blushed. "I had lots of help."

"The best kind," agreed Mum. "But in the end, it was you who did them."

"I suppose." It was kind of embarrassing hearing my mother praise me like this. Mum hugged me again.

"Now, try not to into any more danger than you already have, okay?"

"I will," I promised.

"Good," said Mum. "Now let's show you home."

_Finis_

* * *

**A/N: Well, that's that. I've finished this one up, and it's time to move onto some other projects. Also, this epilogue (including the A/Ns) is exactly half the length of the real story. What a coincidence. Thanks for reading (and reviewing hint hint)!**


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